Armed police were sent to the scene following reports a man was threatening members of the public outside gates close to the end of the school day.

Mobile phone footage shows several officers pinning down the suspect and being forced into a police van as stunned parents watch.

School principal Mark O'Hagan confirmed they were made aware of the incident but the suspect was not on school grounds at any point.

He told the Liverpool Echo: "Towards the end of the day we were alerted to an issue outside the school gates.

"We didn't know what it was at first so placed the school on lockdown to keep the pupils inside as a precaution."

He added: "Police dealt with the incident swiftly and dealt with the individual who was causing the issue.

"As soon as the incident was dealt with we let the pupils out. We wouldn't have let them out if we thought there was any danger."

A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: "A man has been arrested following an incident in Dingle on Wednesday 11 October 2017.

"A report was received at 2.50pm that a man had made verbal threats to members of the public on Dingle Lane.

"Officers attended and a 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offence and racially aggravated threats to kill. He has been taken to a police station in Merseyside to be interviewed."